Devastating flash floods have struck Nepal, killing around 600 people and leaving more than 2,400 unaccounted for, as satellite imagery revealed the scale of the destruction. Entire communities were inundated, with roads, bridges and homes swept away in what officials called catastrophic damage.
The floods followed intense monsoon rainfall that overwhelmed rivers and triggered landslides across mountainous districts. Rescue teams have struggled to reach cut-off villages, where collapsed infrastructure has slowed the delivery of aid and the search for survivors.
Nepal’s government has mobilised security forces and emergency workers, while neighbouring countries and international agencies have signalled readiness to help. Aid organisations warned the toll may rise as access to remote areas improves.
The disaster has renewed concern about the vulnerability of Himalayan communities to increasingly erratic monsoon patterns, which scientists link to a warming climate. Unregulated construction in flood-prone valleys has compounded the risk.
The tragedy has drawn expressions of solidarity from around the world and fresh attention to the human cost of extreme weather in a warming era.
